Thyme in the Wilds - Root Camp [Completed]

In the heart of Ninraih's jungles, the Fae created the city of Ajteire, protected from the undead by the magic of fireflies and a pact with the Kerasoka. The complex network of trees, vines, and plants helps to keep unwanted visitors out. Read more...
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Harroc Crownegrove
Character
Disciples of Balance, Defender of the Woods
Level
01
24 / 24 HP
21 / 21 MP
0p / 0g / 0s / 50c
Race: Elemental and Shapeshifter
Class: Druid
Posts: 141
Joined: August 5th, 2019, 1:48 am
Has thanked: 5 times
Been thanked: 4 times

Re: Thyme in the Wilds - Root Camp

Post by Harroc Crownegrove »

Chloe couldn’t breathe, there wasn’t any air and her lungs refused to listen. Her vision was fading and a lingering pain in her legs slowly becoming an overwhelming burn. She knew she was in shock, possibly dying, and suddenly she heard her first Ranger instructor shouting at her.

“You’ve broken it, but you can’t stop here. You have to move trainee, if you stop you die. The jungle never sleeps, it wants to eat you alive and you can’t show it any weakness,” Instructor Lyneth shouted at her. She remembered this speech, when she had fallen from a high obstacle. The Instructor had refused to heal her, instead using the chance to teach an important lesson.

Chloe felt her lungs greedily suck in air, the fire in her leg exploded and only made the ache in her chest worse. She’d definitely broken it, the pain was too familiar to be anything else. “Get it sorted, careful but quick. Find your allies, if you have none and can’t move yourself you’ll likely die trainee.”

She sat up suddenly, Instructor Lyneth’s words guiding her addled mind. “You have to do what needs to be done. You have to survive,” the Instructor’s words echoed strangely but she latched onto them greedily, like a limb in a rushing river.

She could see Harroc collapsed nearby, but he was strange, like he’d fallen apart and then come back together. He didn’t look like he was breathing, and she remembered he had shouted something before everything went sideways. “Venom,” she spoke without thinking, her voice ragged and faint.

‘He needs toxin suppressant. They’re in my pack. Do what needs to be done,’ she thought, the idea suddenly painfully clear. She felt a tingling in her chest, the comforting warmth of Harroc’s essence that was becoming so familiar. She concentrated, willing the essence to her injury. It moved to her leg immediately and the fire lessened, becoming only painful embers and a dull ache.

She tried to stand and found the leg weak but functional. Every step she felt the warmth lessen and the ache grow. She was burning through the power quickly, and she knew she would collapse when it ran out. She needed to move faster.

Chloe grabbed the strap of her pack and yanked the bag towards her. It hopped, bumping and bouncing on the ground as she dragged it towards Harroc. She fell down to the ground beside him, a sharp pain making her flinch as the impact was harder than she intended.

She shook her head, the essence dulling the pain again as she sat trying to catch her breath. Chloe started rifling through her pack, tossing irrelevant supplies aside as she searched for the antidote she knew she had. It was something she learned to carry when she started messing with the more dangerous plants.

It always paid to use a little forethought when you were doing something dangerous, even if the danger wasn’t immediate. She felt the cool glass of a bundle of vials and pulled them out carefully. Her vision was blurry, and it took several attempts to figure out which vial was actually antidote. She pulled the vial with the deep brown liquid free from the others and looked to Harroc.

He was breathing, but weakly, his chest barely moving. She saw the scrapes all over his arms and frowned, unsure what sort of venom the creatures used. The suppressant she had was magical and so should work regardless, but knowing the kind of toxin would allow her to use plant-based remedies to get them back to the city.

Harroc shivered suddenly, his body beginning to convulse as his breathing stopped. Chloe yanked the stopper from her vial and put a hand to his head, holding it fast as she carefully poured the liquid down his throat. It took effect immediately, making the Druid choke and cough as his lungs tried to breathe.

“You need to get up, we’re not safe,” Chloe said to him, chancing her ragged throat to force him to concentrate. His eyes snapped open, foggy and unfocused, but his breathing became smoother. “Harroc, we need to go, we’re not safe,” she repeated the command, hoping he would understand.

Harroc felt miserable, like he’d spent all his essence and then been beaten soundly afterwards. His lungs burned, his head was swollen, and he couldn’t feel his fingers. He growled in frustration, and blinked several times, but it didn’t make his vision clearer. “I cannot see. I need to shift, but you will have to guide me,” he whispered, sounding like he’d torn his throat to shreds.

“I am going to pass out soon, I broke something,” Chloe said back shaking him slightly.

Harroc planted his hand, finding the lack of feeling disorienting but working through it. “Don your pack and get on my back,” he said finally, taking a moment to catch his breath before rolling over. “I will shift, and you will be my eyes.” His voice was muffled by the dirt but Chloe went to work, stuffing her things back into her pack.

She cinched the straps tight and then crawled over to lay on Harroc’s back. “I feel very silly,” she said near his head. He chuckled faintly, despite the direness of their situation, and turned his head slightly to talk more easily.

“I am dying, you have helped but I will need to use you to cleanse my essence. It will stop you from healing, are you grievously harmed?” he asked her, speaking calmly despite his words.

Chloe felt the fear she’d been keeping down well up in her chest. “I have a broken leg, but I think the essence I had got it under control. I’m going to pass out soon though,” she said back, unable to keep the quiver of terror from her voice. “Do what has to be done, Harroc.”

Harroc grimaced, the words all too familiar, and then burst into smoke. She felt his size change beneath her, her body suddenly much higher off the ground and sinking into dense warm fur. “You are facing the right way, there’s a trail ahead, it looks like it goes on for a while,” she said loudly from his back.

Harroc huffed and Chloe felt a thread of essence suddenly enter her chest. It swirled and tugged, passing through all of her before leaving through her foot. The burning fire in her leg returned, and made her gasp in pain. It felt excruciating, but not like something that would kill her.

Harroc began moving, taking slow strides so as not to jostle her needlessly. He whined softly in apology as he bumped against a tangle of plants before centering himself on the path.

“It’s- we’re okay,” Chloe hissed through her teeth. The pain was slowly fading, being replaced with numbing calm and warmth. “I’m going to pass out soon, how will you see?” she asked him, worried they would be attacked again or Harroc would walk them into a ravine.

‘I am able to feel the earth and plants well enough, though I may collide with them on occasion. The trees are large enough to avoid easily,’ Harroc thought to himself, wishing he’d cast the spell of understanding before changing. He started moving faster instead, hoping she understood before she lost consciousness.

‘If Ixaziel willed it, they would survive. If not, then they would feed the cycle,’ he thought bitterly as he ran. He felt the moment when Chloe slipped into sleep, the passive resistance to his essence suddenly fading away. He forced more through her, using everything he could to restore his strength. If he could heal enough then he could sustain them as long as needed to get home.
Word count: 1320
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